Small tree for a shady spot?

[SeattleGraceMercyWest]

The corner of my garden butts up against the back of my neighbour's very ugly woodshed and I want to put something there to hide it a little, or at the least, detract from it.

However, the spot is very shady... may get a little light towards the end of the day but not much to write home about.

Bonus points if it's something that I can keep in a large pot... I've successfully kept acers in large pots previously, and the size, shape and look of these would be great, however I just wasn't sure if they would thrive in shade.

Any suggestions?

I've found acers to do well in shade. It's shelter they need from strong winds. I have an acer sango kaku that's doing very well in a raised bed in a shady corner. I've got a couple of big ferns in pots too - and a tree fern...

Maybe look at shrubs too - especially if you want evergreen. That might not be so important if you aren't out looking at the woodshed in the winter.

I've also got a mahonia in a (large) pot that is doing well in the same shady corner, it's evergreen and has lovely yellow flowers in the spring that early bees love.

A camelia might be OK too - and is evergreen - although it's unlikely to flower well in shade.

Could you put a trellis up and put something climbing and evergreen - hydrangea petiolaris does well in shade. Or evergreen jasmine - which does well in pots.

A Fatsia might be a good option. They do very well in shade, are evergreen, fast growing (so you don’t need to buy a large one, as even a small one will grow 4 feet in the first year), and the very large leaves are perfect for hiding stuff behind. Apparently they do well in pots.

A variegated holly. Could be beautiful all year but especially in the winter.

@SeattleGraceMercyWest Acers are fine in light shade, although you don't always get quite such a brilliant autumn colour display. They are an understorey tree in nature anyway.

There's one called 'Going Green' which is a lovely bright green and is fairly vigorous, the leaves go orange in autumn so that one might suit. The branches stay bright green in winter too. Another similar one is 'Orange Dream', which starts off orange in spring and then goes more green. Either of those, or 'Emerald Lace', which has very pretty dissected leaves and does well in shade - according to the one in my garden anyway!

Wow, thank you all!!
My knowledge is extremely limited so I’m off to google all these suggestions, but thank you so much. It seems there’s a lot more possibilities than I thought.

I second Fatsia! You could go for contrasting leaf shapes alongside it - ferns, potted clumping bamboo.

I would also suggest a fatsia japonica (commonly known as castor oil plant or false castor oil plant) excellent for the shade. Though it is more of a shrub than a tree, there are variegated varieties as well, such as the lovely "spiders web" which looks tinged with frost. Lovely and versatile plant, very easy to grow, fab leaves and I really like the unusual flowers in late autumn.

How about a euonymus? They are evergreen and come in all sorts of varieties

This is like a foreign language to me 🤦‍♀️ But I’m very grateful and looking up all of these suggestions. Thank you all

Oak leaved hydrangea? White flowers and autumn colour won't like it if it's very dry though.

I have an acer, camellia and a fatsia in a similar position (camellia and acre in pots) so agree with those recommendations. You could also potentially think about a climber if you or your neighbour would be happy with a trellis next to the woodshed? Clematis armandii is evergreen and ok with shade (althoughc I’ve killed two in pots, not sure if the pot was the issue) or Trachelospermum jasminoides which is also evergreen and has gloriously scented flowers. And is very slow growing/easy to prune into a high hedge type.

Clematis armandii likes cool roots, I think. So maybe the pots got too hot 🙂

Based purely on looks, I think that’s a very strong option! I clearly don’t know a thing about suitability, so I trust your advice, but it looks so pretty.

Can I ask one very daft question… I’ve said ideally I want this in a pot, and I’m realising now that I don’t know why I’ve assumed it should be in a pot. The area it’s going on, is grass. I don’t want to put any flower beds in, as that seems beyond my capabilities right now 😂 So am I correct to think a pot is the best way… or would any of these suggestions be better planted in the ground?

Unless a plant needs very specific soil that is different to the soil you have in your garden pretty much everything will do better planted into the ground

We have a red robin in a similar position next to a shed. It was a small shrub when we first moved in and now we've trained it to grow like a tree with ferns planted underneath

Yes, and less watering needed.

Fatsia Japonica Spiders Web, they thrive in the shade. I have one in a large pot.

I agree with @marsaline , if planting in the ground is an option, that is almost certainly a better solution - you won’t need to water nearly as much and your tree will grow much larger as it will have more space to develop its root system.

Most plants are fairly adaptable. The vast majority of trees and shrubs are happy in “normal” soil that is slightly alkaline to neutral - as soil usually is in most gardens, unless you have huge conifers nearby. But some plants need acid (“ericaceous”) soil to thrive, such as camellias and rhododendrons. In case of doubt, avoid ericaceous plants and you should be fine🙂

Whatever you do, make sure you water frequently when the tree has just been planted so it settles in. It really does make a big difference, as otherwise the roots will dry and the tree may go into shock.

Put it in the ground. Much easier to look after.

If you are digging a hole in grass to put it in the ground then clear about a foot to a foot and a half square of grass….more if possible, as grass crowds out young trees and having a bigger patch of ground is easier to keep clear. Water the tree or shrub in well. Then put some bulbs in in autumn for spring flowers.

Agree with everyone else - as long as you’re not going for something that needs specialist soil conditions (camellia would be the only one in the recommendations list) in the soil is always best - basically means your tree has constant access to a buffet ;-) And @BigDahliaFan s suggestion of clearing the ground a bit and putting in bulbs is a great one. Daffs or crocuses are the easiest and naturalise really well although it’s not the right time really to plant either: better in autumn. On which note, now is a great time to get the tree in but I would move fast - as others have said it’ll need a lot of watering at first whilst it establishes and that’s easier when it’s spring and the sky does more of the watering for you :-) Plus trees establish better if planted outside the growing season (which you are just about in)

good luck!

I love the notes of “good luck”… I think you’ve all got the measure of me 😂

Thank you all so much, this has been really helpful